Some of the poems in this book were inspired by walks in the woods and fields around the farm which I share with my husband.
There is a variety of wildlife. I delight in seeing them, hearing their calls or sensing their movements in the forests. In addition, we have always shared our lives with cats, dogs, ponies, horses and, at one time, a mule. They are and have been an unending source of inspiration and joy.
Recently, an extremely talented photographer and friend, Keith Harancher has been posting his animal photos on line. These give me the sense of being there or of making eye contact with the animal and feeling its presence.
They have inspired me to learn more about them and have drawn me into my own imaginary world of their existence.
Looking at these photos I have written some of the other poems in the format of photo-poetry.
Some of the included wildlife are: bison, bears, prairie dogs, wolves, badgers, bats, bears, hawks, long horn sheep, and egrets. I feel that the animals in Keith's photos ...Keith's Critters ... "e;are, be and come to me."e; This book presents the poems in English, French and Spanish.
I originally wrote them in English and subsequently translated them into my two other beloved languages.
I am well aware that translating a poem into another language is not for the 'faint of heart' or for the 'faint of skill.' I am in no way a translator of either French or Spanish.
As background for my translation attempts, I have read enough from the work of professional translators as well as having reviewed some of my courses in psycholinguistics and English literature to know that one must understand the original poem in depth: the meaning, the style, the structure.
The translation must preserve the essence of the original work.
Included in this essence is knowledge of the cultural context in which the poem was written.
Some translators emphasize that it is vital to have an in-depth understanding of the rhyme and meter of the original.
However, in my poems and their translations, I paid more attention to the meanings, the story line, the tone and the experience.
In French and Spanish, my poems became free verse and almost tone-poem in texture.
In essence my translations are literal translations as opposed to lyrical or metrical or rhyming. translations. According to the award-winning poet and English translator, Geoffrey Brock, "e;a good translation should breathe. (En francais, il s'agit d'un recueil de mes poemes sur la faune vue a travers les competences photographiques de Keith Harancher et sur mes propres compagnons animaux.
Les poemes sur une grande partie de la faune sont des photographiques- poemes.
Je celebre tous ces animaux. Et j'espere que mes traductions de l'anglais vers francais n'insulteront ni n'ennuieront ni les animaux ni les lecteurs/lectrices.) and en espanol Esta es una coleccion de mis poemas sobre la vida silvestre vistos a traves de las habilidades fotografias de Keith Harancher y sobre mis propios companeros animales.
Los poemas sobre muchos de los animales salvajes son foto-poemas.
Celebro a todos estos animales. Y espero que mis traducciones del ingles al espanol no insulten ni molesten ni a los animales ni a los lectores.)
